The Labor enquirer., 1887-09-10


as we may, with land tax, free
trade, paper money and the like,
so long as we remain in this men
tai slavery, the bond-servants of a
superstition that offends the first
principles of justice, it is idle to
talk of freedom, and to prate Of
individualism is to reach the CHI
max of absurdity. Justice can
have no dwelling place among
those whose fundamental philoso-
ply of life in this paltry to-day,
and the limitless eternity, is based
upon injustice.
Now in this, the devils choicest
work, Edward McGlynn has been
for many years conspicuously ac-
tive. Of that church which has
exhausted the resources of ingen-
uity and aesthetic art to drug the
intellect, stiAe the rising sighs of
struggling conscience and in a
word reduce the splendid iudivid
uality of man to cringing auto
maton of prayer, he has been for
years devoted servant, the more
invaluable by reason of the sane
tity of his private life. Were to
rise at one of the Anti-Poverty
meetings and defend landlordism
by speaking of the Lord and Lady
Bountifuls of whom England even
to-day can boast | should be
told that such as they are really
curses in disguise; that they are
the props that serve still to keep
on its legs an institution which
otherwise would ere this have tot
tered to its grave. That they do
not perceive that the same argu-
ment applies to DR.. McGlynn and
so rotten an affair as the church
of RoHe, is due to the fact that
Mr.. George has gathered around
him a multitude that has but just
begun to think; men who, while
apparently united for the time be-
ing in the advocacy of measure,
have as whole no philosophy in
common. This is where we have
the advantage of them and no bet
ter illustration of the difference
between the followers of George
and the Socialists could be afford
ed than the McGlynn case itself
supplies.
DR.. McGlynn's speeches show
that he clearly recognizes that in
serving the church of Rome so
many years he has been in reality
bowing himself down in the house
of Mammon. He has now been
engaged for some months in pub
fishing the severest indictment
of that church as organized, tyran-
ny incarnate, that our times have
seen, and faultless as his private
life has been his conscience must
be ever reminding him that he has
hitherto played but poor part in
supporting such a falsehood. I
think that a prudent modesty
should has impelled him to silence
rather than to loquacity, or that
if his tongue was bound to wag he
should be now speaking in the
vein of the miserable sinner who
blamed himself for years of cow
ardly reticence. This is the light
in which we Socialists have gen.
orally regarded this affair, and
while we have greatly rejoiced at
the conversion of the sinner we
have not been disposed to canon
ize him. In truth what seems so
great a matter to the members of
the Anti-Poverty Society has
scarcely struck us as more than an
ordinary incident. Why should
we hold up the hand of amaze
ment at the spectacle of priest
daring to speak, or-to take kin
dred profession-of California
Judge, who l observe by the way
still carefully guards himself by
asserting the legality of his revo-
lutionary tenets and as carefully
continues to draw his official sala-